State labor economist Neal Fried said the company's hiring plans are startling considering the payroll shrinkage seen in the oil industry. Much of the cutbacks could be attributed to slowing oil flow from the Prudhoe Bay oil field, operated by BP on behalf of itself and other owners.

BP's job base in Alaska dropped from about 1,500 in 1991 to as few as 900 in 1999, according to the state Department of Labor. The payroll briefly spiked early this decade as BP took over operation of Prudhoe, but the cutbacks resumed and last year BP employed 1,337.

BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said the company plans to bring the new hires aboard by the end of next year. The jobs are new, not replacements for vacant positions, he said.

Projects being considered include a plant to remove salt from water, with the water then pumped underground to flush out more oil. Fresh water can wash out potentially millions of barrels more crude oil than the salty water now used, Beaudo said.

Also, pipelines and plants across the North Slope are aging and will need refurbishing for what BP sees as 50 years of work remaining in the region.

Evidence of Clatsop site remains elusive

WARRENTON, Ore. - A month of scanning and probing beneath the site of the destroyed Fort Clatsop replica has failed to find artifacts that tie the site to the original fort built by the Lewis and Clark expedition 200 years ago.

The replica at the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, burned Oct. 3, making the space beneath it available for exploration.

The search was to end Wednesday, and construction of a new replica is to begin Dec. 10.

A long tradition of oral history puts the original fort at or near the site of the replica, but hard evidence linking the site to the explorers has been elusive.